1888 and the local leader of the Woman Suffrage Association is found dead by midwife Rose Carroll. As she help Kevin Donovan of the Amesbury Police Department she discovers that there are several people who have motives for the killing.
An enjoyable well-written mystery, the third in the series.
A NetGalley Book ( )

A good read, Turning the Tide provides a vivid portrayal of some unique characters in a Massachusetts town in 1888. In Book 3 of the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, Rose Carroll finds a suffragette bludgeoned on the eve of the 1888 election in Amesbury Massachusetts. Like author Edith Maxwell, I am grateful to women of the past who bucked the system for changes I’ve always benefited from. Rose is a different heroine in a small town and her job as midwife takes her behind the scenes in women’s lives, while her Quaker upbringing gives her a different slant on the world around her. She’s worried about her clients and whether she’ll be drummed out of her meeting for her engagement to a non-Quaker, while her unusual mother and friends all support the vote for women. There is a shocking scene at the end when the murderer is revealed in pretty unusual circumstances.

What I enjoy most about reading (and writing) historicals are all the unexpected details about what was really happening the past. Edith Maxwell provides a wealth of great and believable detail about this time of transition to electricity and telephones, with realistic carriages in this carriage producing town, election cakes, “Boston marriages”, and how babies were born. Historical characters Elizabeth Cady Stanton and poet John Greenleaf Whittier add to the meticulous detail. You’ll enjoy the flawed but sympathetic cast of characters as well. Highly recommended.
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Be careful the author has brought our midwife Quaker Rose back, and unfortunately bodies seem to follow her too. We are in the 1880’s Massachusetts, and we are at historical meetings and suffragette demonstrations with some famous people.
I loved reading about how hard these women fought to get the vote, and how some men were so against it, really makes you think, and also what a lot take for granted.
We go to the deliveries of new babies, and wonder if Rose and
David will be able to go ahead and have their wedding, forces sure do seem to be against them. One good thing, it does look like there may be another book to answer some of these questions, and that makes me happy!
I enjoyed this story, and wasn’t sure of the who done it until the very end.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Midnight Ink, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

This book reminded me of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote if she had been a midwife, in 1888, and a Quaker! Our main character, Rose Carroll is back in her third book in the Quaker Midwife Mystery. I have not read the first two books yet, but as soon as I saw the description of this book I knew I wanted to read it. NetGalley kindly allowed me to read the ARC of the book in exchange for a review and I am so glad they did! Rose is a Quaker who is loyal to her beliefs, engaged to a non-Quaker man (a bit scandalous at the time!), and keeps coming across mysteries. Luckily the local police are accepting of Rose's abilities to find out what they cannot and she works with them.

Throughout solving the mystery in this particular book, Rose is also a fledgling suffragist who takes the reader along as she helps support the cause of women's right to vote. We are also able to learn a lot about midwifery at the time and see what her life is like balancing all of her duties to family, fiancé, her work as a midwife, and amateur detective. When I started the book I was not sure I was going to be interested in finishing, but as soon as the mystery kicked in I had to keep reading. Rose is a likable character who gives us her thoughts on each person in her world, as well as portrays herself realistically. She doubts herself, and is willing to wonder about her decisions.

I would recommend this book for mystery fans as well as fans of learning more about the every day women who were involved in the suffrage movement. It was wonderful to see the story of suffrage through the eyes of an every day woman and not just hearing about the women famous for their participation. Rose shows us her life and along the way works to solve a shocking murder. I did not see the ending coming, and that is always good in a mystery! I am hoping to go back and read the first two books in the series and learn more about Rose. ( )

Turning The Tide is the third book in the A Quaker Midwife Mystery series.

I really love this series from Edith Maxwell. The books are all well-plotted stories and have interesting and believable character. Maxwell has researched well, the time and area to provide the reader with an accurate portrayal of life in the late 1800’s Massachusetts. There is also the cameo appearance by John Greenleaf Whittier, Elizabeth Cady, and Susan B. Anthony.

It’s 1888 and the presidential election is just around the corner. In the quaint little community if Amesbury the Amesbury Women Suffrage Association are having planning meetings for the protest they will put on on election day seeking the right to vote. One evening after a suffrage meeting, Rose Carroll is called to an impending birth. As delivering the baby she is heading home, near dawn and comes across the body of Rowena Felch hidden under a lilac tree in front of her home and looking through a front window at her it appears that a room has been ransacked. Rose had just met Rowena the evening before at the organizational meeting. When Det. Kevin Donovan arrives at the scene, Rose informs him that Rowena and a Zula Goodwin had exchanged some heated words at their meeting the evening before.

In the past, Donovan has appreciated Rose’s help in solving other cases and offers to help find the person that murdered Rowena. Someone comes forward and claims to have seen Hilarius Bauer near Rowena home that evening. The police chief wanting a quick solution to the case orders Donovan to arrest Bauer. Rose feels certain he is not the murder and continues to investigate.

On election day at the rally, a Leroy Dunnsmore a known opponent to the Suffrage movement tries to shoot Elizabeth Cady. It seems that Rowena’s husband might be innocent, as he had been out of town when the murder happened, but then he could have hired someone. Rose isn’t still sure whether the reason for the killing is related to her involvement in the suffrage movement or revenge for something more personal. When an attempt is made on her life, Rose knows she has to mover quick or she might be the next victim.

If working as a midwife and investigating this murder, Rose also has to deal with her impending marriage to David Dodge, a doctor. Dodge is not of the Quaker faith and Rose has been told by Ruby Bracken that she will be read out of the Friends if she does marry Dodge. In addition, Dodge’s mother is dead set against the marriage, thinking her some could marry someone better.

This was an exciting book with a few twists and turns and was a book that was hard to put down.

I definitely want to read the next book in this exciting and informative series. ( )